Hartlebury was formerly the location of Queen Elizabeth I Grammar School. Records of the school date back to a mention in the Domesday Book of William the Conqueror in 1066, but apart from that, other early accounts date back to 1400, centuries before Harrow and Rugby were founded. The school was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1557.[1] Originally a private boys school, it was taken over by the State, and was closed when it was merged in 1977 with King Charles I Grammar School, Kidderminster, and The Kidderminster Girls High School to form King Charles I School. The historic old school was sold off to become a private residence. The magnificent new building, with its commanding views over the countryside, was narrowly rescued from demolition by the Old Boys Association.[2]

The Worcestershire House is a house originally from Hartlebury, which was dismantled and re-assembled at the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia in 1992. The John Smith (Smyth or Smythe) family built it in the 1630s. An example of the Tudor frame or Timber framing construction, it was dismantled in 1970 and stored.[3]

A private school, for young boys and girls, operated there until 2007. It was called Bowbrook School for 20 years and was renamed Hartlebury Independent School in 1999. One year later, it was renamed Hartlebury School. In 2007, it became a charitable organisation. Then in 2008 it was re-launched as The New Elizabethan School, which was featured in a BBC documentary.[4][5][6][7] None of these later schools has any connection, other than the premises, with the Grammar School.